The Diary of An Imbittered Headmistress
by Always Hopeful
Summary: COMPLETE! Hogwarts lay in ruins and the whole gang are feeling a little down about themselves. But when Hermione finds McGonagal's diary, they find things out that they might not have known before. The diary may show them a McGonagall they never knew.
1. The Discovery

Disclaimer: I do not own anything dealing with Harry Potter or anything else in this story that you might recognize as the infamous J.K. Rowling's own.  
  
A/N: Oh, I am so nervous! This is my very first AD/MM story and I just hope that everyone who reads it really likes it. Please read and review it. It would mean so much to me if you should review to it.  
  
Harry looked upon the dismal heap of land that was once Hogwarts. His wife Ginny gripped his left arm, as he held onto their six-year-old daughter, Francesca, in his right arm. The entire gang stood behind them. Ron and Hermione were engaged to be married in a few months, Draco was dating a witch from a prominent family, and Neville and Seamus were still single. It had been nearly ten years since they had graduated from the once happy place. But now, it was just a heap of rocks from where the Great Battle had taken place.  
  
"The Order was right," sighed Harry. He set Francesca down and scratched his head. His daughter laughed as she played among the debris and rocks. "There's not much left. He felt a sudden weight lay upon his heart. This had been his first real home since he was eleven years old. It was where he had hoped to send his children and their children and his grandchildren. And even though they had defeated Voldemort in the end, everyone present felt as if they had somehow lost an even greater war.  
  
"I can't believe it," said Hermione sorrowfully. "Hogwarts... gone. The same Hogwarts that once stood high and proud only months ago. Now, it's gone forever."  
  
"Well, I suppose we should look for anything that we might want," shrugged Harry.  
  
"Oh, Harry," sighed Ginny. "I still remember that night in your second year when you saved me from the chamber." Harry smiled, wrapped his arm around her, and then proceeded to walk among the rubble. The small group spent several hours looking through the massive space that was once Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Then...  
  
"I found it!" exclaimed Hermione. Everyone looked up.  
  
"Found what, 'Mione?" asked Ron. Everyone went to where Hermione stood.  
  
"Oh, um, nothing," she said quickly, hiding something in her coat.  
  
"Come on, 'Mione, let us see what you found," pleaded Seamus.  
  
"No!" said Hermione strictly.  
  
"Please," begged Neville. Hermione sighed.  
  
"Oh, all right," she breathed. She pulled out a small red and gold diary.  
  
"Whoa, go Hermoine," smiled Ron, patting his fiancée on the back. "Snooping in other people property."  
  
"Oh, Ronald. It's not snooping if someone asks you to find it. Besides, I never said I would actually read it."  
  
"Whose is it, anyway?" asked Seamus excitedly.  
  
"Not that it's any of your business, but it's McGonagal's," huffed Hermione.  
  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, WHOA!" exclaimed Ron, holding up his hands and smiling. "McGonagal had a diary?"  
  
"Of coarse," replied Hermione. "She wrote in it from our first year until quite recently. Just before the fall of Hogwarts, actually."  
  
"C'mon, let's read it," said Seamus, tugging on her sleeve.  
  
"No, Seamus," snapped Hermione, grasping onto the diary. "We can't do that."  
  
"Oh, why not, 'Mione?" whined Neville.  
  
"Because for one thing, it is rude to pry. And for another thing, this is someone else's private property. I'm sure you wouldn't want anyone reading your private thoughts, would you?"  
  
"Oh, no worries about that. I haven't got any," smiled Neville. The others chuckled as Hermione glared at him.  
  
"Oh, loosen up, 'Mione," smiled Ginny. "I'm sure McGonagal won't mind us reading a few passages. After all, she's too busy helping the Order right now to know that we've been reading her diary."  
  
"What do you say of this?" Hermione asked, looking dead at Harry and Draco, both of whom had remained silent through the entire argument. They looked at each other and Draco shrugged. They had become friends only over the past few years when they had been forced to set aside their childish rivalries to help the order hunt down Lord Voldemort. Lucius Malfoy didn't like this son helping the Order, of coarse. But after he had been placed in Azkaban for being a follower of the Dark Lord, Draco figured he couldn't be worse off.  
  
"It's fine with me, as long as I don't take the rap for it," said Draco, holding up his hands.  
  
"What else is new?" smiled Harry as he rolled his eyes. He rubbed the back of his head and sighed. "Alright, I know I'm probably going to regret this, but I suppose it won't do any harm to read one or two passages." Everyone looked at Hermione, smiles plastered on their faces. She closed her eyes and sighed.  
  
"Fine," she said, looking at the small group. "We have time for just one passage, bit that is it." The others cheered as Hermione opened to the first page.  
  
"You ready?" she asked. Harry, Ginny, and Francesca sat on a large rock together just a short distance to Hermione's left, Seamus to her right, Neville just in front of her, and Draco a small distance behind her on the off chance someone caught them and he needed to make a hasty escape.  
  
"Ready," the group chanted.  
  
"Sure," shrugged Draco, trying not to sound interested.  
  
"Okay, here I go," said Hermione. She took a deep breath and began to read the first passage. 


	2. Entry 1

Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own anything that deals with Harry Potter.  
  
A/N: Please read and review. Please people. I would really like it if I got some good reviews.  
  
"July 31st,  
  
"Today is the day! Harry Potter, the infamous Boy Who Lived, turns eleven. Hagrid has already gone to get him from those horrible muggles, Vernon and Petunia. They have no right to call themselves human beings, let alone parents. And Dudley... Oh, that boy deserves a few good smacks.  
  
"Anyway, I can hardly wait to see Harry again. His future depends on how well he takes in his first year. Once he gets here, I am sure Dumbledore will make him feel at home. Dumbledore. Every time I say it, I blush like a bloody schoolgirl. It could be because we did date in school..."  
  
"WHAT!" cried Ginny, her jaw open, eyes wide. Seamus covered his mouth and Draco rushed to Hermione's side.  
  
"Let me see that," he exclaimed, grabbing the diary out of Hermione's hands. Harry stood at his side as they re-read the last two lines.  
  
"Ha, I told you!" cried Harry, pointing to the last line Hermione read. "Pay up, ya chump!"  
  
"D'oh!" sighed Draco, digging into his pocket. He pulled out two galleons and handed them to Harry, who proceeded to kiss them and place them into his pocket.  
  
"You made a bet that McGonagal and Dumbledore went out when they were in school?" asked Hermione disapprovingly.  
  
"Actually, we bet that they had dated at one time or another. We never actually said when," said Harry.  
  
"I can't believe it!" grumbled Draco. "Bloody hell!"  
  
"Continue, Hermione!" said Ginny excitedly.  
  
"I suppose it was kind of obvious," said Neville. "I mean, think back to when we were in school! Whenever Dumbledore appeared, McGonagal was right there beside him. That was especially true in our second year. A student was petrified, and suddenly, they were right there together! As in side by side together."  
  
"That doesn't prove anything, Neville!" said Hermione. "She is headmistress of Hogwarts. Or, was..." she added, looking at the rubble.  
  
"Yeah," said Seamus excitedly. "She probably became the headmistress because they were dating!"  
  
"You two are reading way into this," Hermione said to Neville and Seamus. "I'll bet you anything they weren't even dating during our years at Hogwarts."  
  
"Well," smiled Ginny. "There's only one way to find out." The group looked at the diary, which Draco had set on a nearby rock. Hermione gulped and reached for it. But right before her hand touched it, a small blue- colored animal jumped on top of the diary and hissed at Hermione, causing her to jump back and scream.  
  
"It's just a Cornish pixie, 'Mione," laughed Harry. Hermione looked at the small pixie, a large grimace on its face.  
  
"Oh, I know that," sighed Hermione, her hand on her chest. "It just... scared me, that's all."  
  
"Sure, 'Mione," smiled Harry. "Whatever you say."  
  
"It must've escaped from the old DADA classroom," said Neville.  
  
"Possibly," shrugged Seamus. "You know ever since Snape took that job, Cornish pixies have been escaping and playing tricks on him and the other teachers."  
  
"No thanks to Peeves," said Hermione.  
  
"Watch it!" cried Ron. But before anyone could react, the blue creatures took off, diary in both hands.  
  
"Get him!" cried Hermione. Everyone began to chase it furiously before Draco pulled out his wand and attempted to hex the pixie.  
  
"Pesky pixie pesti-," but he was cut off when he lost his footing and got his ankle caught between two rocks. He let out a scream of pain.  
  
"Draco!" cried Ginny, turning back.  
  
"Go, go," growled Draco, waving his hand and pointing in the opposite direction. "Get the bloody pixie."  
  
"Right!" called Ginny. She turned and once again began chasing the excited pixie. But there was no need to run any further because Hermione pulled out her wand and cried, "Imobulous!" That surely did it. The impish pixie froze in mid-air, diary still clutched in his hands.  
  
"Accio diary!" called Harry. The diary then flew out of the pixies hands and right to Harry.  
  
"Phew," sighed Ron. "That was a close one."  
  
"Hello!" cried Draco. "I am still in great pain over here!" Everyone looked at him.  
  
"Oh, sorry," said Hermione. "C'mon, you guys. Let's get Draco to the hospital."  
  
"The... hospital?" squeaked Draco. 


	3. The Flashback

Disclaimer: Once again, I own nothing dealing with Harry Potter or anything that the great J.K. Rowling has so graciously bestowed upon us. Thank you J.K. Rowling, I am your eternal slave forever more.  
  
A/N: I would just like to say that I am sorry that I have not been updating lately, but my computer has been screwing up a lot lately and I am so happy cuz my mom just got me a new laptop. I hope you guys like this update.  
  
The small group entered the medical ward in the hospital. As Harry and Ginny set Draco carefully in a nearby chair, Hermione went up to the service window and inquired about how soon the doctor would be able to see the next patient. The nurse looked up at her and sighed. She had a sour look plastered on her face.  
  
"He'll be with you when he can," she said in a monotonous voice. Then, she looked back down at her magazine, Witch Weekly, and began to flip the pages once again.  
  
"Well, do you suppose you might know about when the doctor will be able to see him?" Hermione persisted, nodding her head over at Draco. The witch looked at Draco, and then sighed wearily.  
  
"Look, get off my back, alright? I don't know when the doctor will be in, so you'll just have to wait until he does come." And without another word, she closed the window.  
  
"Unbelievable," sighed Hermione. She took one last look at the window and then went back to where the others sat.  
  
"So?" asked Draco. "What did she say? Will the doctor see me now?"  
  
"I'm afraid we'll have to wait until she's done with her filing," sighed Hermione, slumping into the chair next to Ginny.  
  
"Filing what?" asked Harry.  
  
"Her bloody nails," mumbled Hermione.  
  
"Well, this is just bloody great," grumbled Draco, propping his ankle on an adjoining chair. "I'm sitting here hurt and these people don't even care."  
  
"Well, there are others that are even more sick than you are," said Neville.  
  
"Shut up, Longbottom," snarled Draco.  
  
"So, now what do we do?" sighed Hermione. But no one really had to say anything. Hermione dug into her pocket and pulled out McGonagall's diary. She skipped a few pages that didn't seem to be too interesting until...  
  
'November 1st,  
  
'After that disastrous troll incident that happened last night, my nerves have been all jittery. That troll could have seriously harmed not only young Mr. Potter, but Weasly and Granger as well. Even though Harry did prove to be quite a strong wizard, he could have seriously gotten himself hurt. And I'm not so sure weather to believe that it was, in fact, Miss Granger who had been so careless in her choice making as to actually go looking for that thing.  
  
'But now I'm faced with another kind of problem. One that I just pray does not get out of control. I fear that Albus still loves me. I was on my way to his office last night, after that horrible incident, to deliver some papers dealing with some of the curriculum that I thought might be interesting for the students. I was about to enter his office when I heard him talking. At first, I thought he might be with a minister. But when I peeked in, I saw only Albus in the room.  
  
'This, I thought, was odd, to say the least. But then, I caught a few words of what he said. But to better understand what has happened, I should place in here a porthole to this event...'  
  
The group looked at each other in fear. What should they do about it? That seemed to be the question on all their minds.  
  
"Well?" asked Hermione. "Do you suppose we should actually go back into the past? Should we look and see what had happened?"  
  
"Well, we can't all go," said Ginny.  
  
"Oh pooh, why not?" asked Draco. Then, he looked at his leg. "Oh, yeah."  
  
"I'll stay here with Draco," said Neville. It was obvious that he didn't want to get harmed in any way.  
  
"And if Neville stays, I stay," said Seamus.  
  
"Why don't you go, 'Mione?" suggested Ginny. "We'll all stay here and wait for the doctor to finally come out." Hermione sighed and nodded.  
  
"Okay, here I go," she said. "But if you guys are done before I am. Don't forget to take the diary with you. I don't want to be left behind." The others nodded and then, before she knew it, she felt herself being pulled into the diary, the same way Harry had been pulled into Tom's diary in his second year.  
  
Flashback  
  
Hermione felt herself fall heavily upon the cold stone floor of a Hogwarts hall. She looked around and sighed as she remembered these halls. Now she would never see them again. But her unhappy thoughts were interrupted when she heard footsteps walking quickly towards her. She quickly stood and saw Professor McGonagall coming straight towards her, a stack of papers in her hand.  
  
"Professor McGonagall," she said quickly, trying to explain her presence in the diary. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to read your diary, but when I read this passage to the others, they just-," But McGonagall didn't seem to see her as she walked right past her and continues down the hall. Hermione just shook her head and followed her favorite teacher.  
  
She followed McGonagall all the way to Dumbledores office. The teacher mumbled the password and then proceeded up the now moving stairs. Hermione quickly followed, not wanting to be left in the hallway and miss everything that had happened in the office.  
  
She saw everything that McGonagall said had happened up until the part when she had stopped writing and left the porthole. Then, she heard Dumbledore talking to himself, and she listened intently so as to try and catch everything that was being said.  
  
"I know I should tell her, but I can't bring myself to do it. I don't know why I'm even thinking about this. This is totally unprofessional of me in every was imaginable." He ranted on a few more minutes before McGonagall's name came up.  
  
"That's it! I shall tell Minerva tomorrow how I feel." With that, McGonagall knocked on the door. "Come in," the headmaster called. McGonagall pushed open the door and walked in, Hermione forever at her heal.  
  
"I have those papers I want you to look over," she said, setting the papers on his desk.  
  
"Thank you, Minerva," said Dumbledore. He looked at her and smiled.  
  
"Is there something that you should like to tell me?" McGonagall asked, suspicious of what he was waiting to tell her.  
  
"Why would you ask that?" asked Dumbledore, a little taken aback by the directness of the question.  
  
"I just thought I might ask," shrugged McGonagall, thinking that she should just wait until the next evening if it wasn't that important. She turned, but Dumbledore stopped her.  
  
"Actually, Minerva, there is something that I have wanted to discuss with you," he said. She turned and faced him, an eye quirked.  
  
"And what might that be, headmaster?" she asked hesitantly. He was now standing.  
  
"Minerva, how much longer can we go without talking things out?" He asked. Hermione held a look of confusion on her face. What was he talking about? She wondered.  
  
"I can go as long as you can, Albus," McGonagall replied coolly, placing her hands behind her back and clasping them.  
  
"You know I didn't want to do it, Minerva," he said, now walking around the desk. He sat down on the edge of it and placed his hands in his lap.  
  
"Sure you didn't," frowned McGonagall.  
  
"I really didn't," said Dumbledore.  
  
"Oh, come off it, Albus," shot McGonagall. "Look, I don't know what happened that night and I don't really care. All I know is that you broke my heart when you left me standing at the alter, and I just don't think I could ever forgive you for that."  
  
Hermione's eyes were popping out of her head and her mouth was open, making her look like some weird goldfish at a carnival. What? Did she just hear her right? Were McGonagall and Dumbledore actually engaged at one point? And did Dumbledore actually leave her at the alter? So many questions and almost no answers at all.  
  
"Minerva, please listen to me for just one second," pleaded Dumbledore. He went to McGonagall and grabbed her by both shoulders. "I really did not mean for that to happen. I just didn't want you to get hurt or angry because you married me. I always thought you could have done better than me."  
  
"Well, you did hurt me," shot McGonagall, pushing Dumbledore off her. "I don't care what you thought. I loved you and even if you thought I could do better than you, I thought I WAS doing the best thing for me." With that, she turned and headed for the door to leave. But not before turning at the door and adding, "If I could have done better, I would have by now." And then she stormed out, angrier than Hermione had ever seen her get before. Then everything began to fade like watercolors in the rain.

Hi all, Always Hopeful here. Sorry this chapter is longer than any others that I have written. I just had a lot of ideas and didn't know where to stop.


	4. Oops

Disclaimer: Once again, I own nothing dealing with Harry Potter and all that stuff but the plot is, indeed, mine.  
  
A/N: Sorry it's been a while. I needed time to myself to think things out. Thanks for my reviewers.  
  
Hermione came out of the diary, more surprised than anything else. A million questions rushed through her mind and she wasn't sure which one to try and solve first. She was so in thought, that she completely ignored the small group that was looking at her, nor did she notice that they were no longer in the hospital.  
  
"So?" asked Ginny impatiently after a few moments of silence. This cause Hermione to jump a little and look at the group around her.  
  
"Where are we?" she asked absentmindedly.  
  
"We're here at Gibble Park," said Harry, frowning.  
  
"What happened in the diary?" asked Draco. Hermione could see that his foot was now wound in some bandages and he now had two crutches. Apparently, the doctor had suggested the old muggle fashion to healing.  
  
"I thought you weren't interested in what was happening," smirked Seamus.  
  
"Oh, honestly, Finnegan, you can't really be that thick, can you?" asked Draco, irritated. "You're worse than Crabbe or Goyle ever were. Of coarse I'm interested."  
  
"So, what happened?" pressed Neville. Hermione looked around.  
  
"Where's Francesca?" she inquired.  
  
"She's over there, playing," said Harry, pointing to the swings on the park. Then, Hermione looked around the park, only to find that they were the only people there.  
  
"Okay, here's what happened," she said. She told them the whole story. She told them how McGonagall had gone to Dumbledores office, how practically begged her to forgive him (but in his own Dumbledore sort of way) for what he had done to her, and then how she turned him down flat.  
  
"Oh, poor McGonagall," sighed Ginny as soon as Hermione had finished. "She's such a strict person. Dumbledore should have known that she would never have forgiven him for doing such a thing as leave her at the alter."  
  
"Poor McGonagall? What about poor Dumbledore?" asked Seamus. "He said he was sorry, and that he just wanted the best for her, and that is why she was so mad at him?"  
  
"Now now, you two, don't start fussing," said Hermione. "You both make valid points, but you shouldn't be fighting about it."  
  
"Not fighting, discussing," said Seamus.  
  
"So, what do we do now?" asked Hermione. It seemed that she was asking that question a lot lately, but she really had no clue as to what to do next.  
  
"We should keep reading," said Neville.  
  
"I don't know, you guys, I feel really horrible prying like this into- ," Hermione started. But as she was flipping through the pages of the diary, a small, brown note fell out of it. Hermione looked down at it, picked it up, and instantly noticed the handwriting to be Dumbledores.  
  
"Is it from who I think it's from?" asked Harry, as he too was familiar with the headmasters writing. Hermione nodded.  
  
"Who's it from?" asked Draco.  
  
"Dumbledore," said Hermione simply.  
  
"Go on, what does it say?" asked Ginny.  
  
"Yes, Miss Granger, what does it say?" The heads of the six readers shot up and saw Professor McGonagall standing just a few feet away from the bench that they were sitting on.  
  
"Professor McGonagall," squeaked Hermione, jumping up. The diary and the letter fell from her lap as the others, save Draco, stood up as well.  
  
"We're sorry," stammered Harry. "We really didn't-I mean-Well, we did, but-,"  
  
"Please, don't get angry with Hermione, Professor," said Ginny. "We forced her to read it, even though she didn't want to."  
  
"Silence," commanded Professor McGonagall, holding up her hand to stop the talking. Then, with the same had now facing palm up, she said, "Give me the diary, Miss Granger." Hermione quickly picked up the diary and handed it over to the apparently angry teacher.  
  
"I'm sorry, Professor McGonagall," she said, lowering her head as well as her voice. "I swear to never do that again, nor will I ever breath a word of anything I have found out to anyone. Ever!" McGonagall sighed and looked at the young woman in front of her.  
  
"How far did you get, Miss Granger?" she asked.  
  
"We only read two passages, Professor," admitted Hermione, still looking at the ground. "We read your very first one and the one after Halloween. You know, the one with the porthole?" McGonagall slowly nodded, looked at her old diary, and then back at the shamed Hermione that stood before her.  
  
"I see," she sighed. "Well then, let me sum up what happened after that." Her stare and tone remained forever cold. "I kept a valid and up to date record of Mr. Potter's progress, what he was up to, and everything else concerning him. Professor Dumbledore and I never talked about it again after that night. Well, we tried not to anyway. But in your fifth year, that changed. Is that good enough for you, or must I elaborate more on my private life for your enjoyment?"  
  
"No, Professor," said Hermione sorrowfully, never once looking up to face her favorite professor.  
  
"Good," said McGonagall. "You six are now needed in front of the Order. Now go." The six regretfully took off, leaving McGonagall alone in the park.  
  
The tired professor sat down on the now empty bench, her diary still clutched in her hands. She would have expected something like this from Malfoy or perhaps even a Weasly. But certainly not from Granger, the one she had most trusted to get her diary. Then, she felt a light touch on her shoulder and looked up.  
  
"Hello, Albus," she said as her husband joined her on the bench.  
  
"What is troubling you, my dear?" he inquired, gently stroking her hair.  
  
"Those ex-students of ours," she sighed. "They saw the porthole entry I left. Fortunately, the have not discovered that we are married. If they did..." Minerva trailed off. Both she and Albus knew that the small bunch would have let their marriage slip, releasing everyone for comments, both good and bad, and well... they just weren't ready for everyone to be making those small comments. Even though they had been together since the groups fifth year, they had only been married for five.  
  
"In time, Minerva. In time." He kissed his wife on the lips and then brushed her hair again. She nodded, and rested her head on his shoulder. They would just have to wait until they could find the most opportune moment to tell everyone. Then, McGonagall thought of something. She looked at her husband with a smile.  
  
"I have an idea of what we can do for Hogwarts..." she said. 


	5. Back Together

Disclaimer: Even though I highly doubt that anyone is reading this or really much cares, I would like to point out that I do not own in any way anything dealing with Harry Potter. If I did, it would be highly unlikely that I would be here writing fan fictions as opposed to writing the next Harry Potter, which I hear will possibly be called Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Doesn't that sound like Malfoy?  
  
A/N: I would like to thank all of those who have reviewed and regretfully will have to say that this will, indeed, be my last chapter for this story. You all have been great and I really enjoyed writing this piece.  
  
"That's it. Just a little bit higher. Keep going, keep going. There we are," called Albus Dumbledore. He was instructing a group of constructing wizards on how high he wanted the last piece of the castle to be placed. Once they had placed it where he had said, there was a great cheer from the group of students that stood behind them. Dumbledore turned around and faced them, a huge smile on his face. Minerva stood right next to him.  
  
"Thank you all," he said once he had managed to calm down the group. "For the past month, all the time and money that you all have contributed to rebuilding the old castle really means a lot to me, Minerva, the rest of the staff, and the future of all students that wish to learn their magic in comfortable surroundings."  
  
Once again, there was clapping. Albus looked at the happy group of a hundred or so volunteers that had offered their services to the rebuilding of Hogwarts. Now, it looked better than ever. His eyes finally landed on the group that consisted of Harry and Ginny Potter, Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, the entire Weasly family (yes, even Bill and Charlie), Seamus Finnegan, and Neville Longbottom. He gave them all a wink and a smile.  
  
It wasn't until after everyone else had left, though, that he and Minerva pulled Hermione, Harry, Draco, Ginny, Seamus, and Neville aside.  
  
"We hope that you can understand our cause for concern once you had discovered my diary and began reading it, Miss Granger," said McGonagall. "We are not yet prepared to have everyone know that we are married." Smiling slightly at the shocked look on the groups' faces, she continued. "Yes, we are married. We have been married for the past five years."  
  
"We just haven't told anyone but a select few that we didn't see any harm in telling. We just wanted to make sure that Voldemort had been defeated before we could make sure anyone knew about it."  
  
"Professors," frowned Hermione. "Might I ask what happened in our fifth year to change the way you are now?" Minerva and Albus looked at each other for a moment, then turned back to the group of their ex-students.  
  
"Here, perhaps you should take this," said McGonagall. She held up the piece of parchment that had dropped from the diary when they were in the park. "It might be better if you should see it for yourself."  
  
"Another porthole," sighed Hermione. "Here we go again."  
  
"Perhaps it would be better if you went alone, Miss Granger," said McGonagall. "If more than one should go, then the memory will become rather fuzzy." Hermione nodded, feeling rather put out that she had to go by himself, once again. She opened the parchment and felt herself being instantly transported to another time, another Hogwarts.  
  
And once again, she landed with a thud onto the ground. Only, this time, she didn't land in some random hall. This time, she had landed in McGonagall's office. She was apparently working on some papers, her quill furiously scribbling along the page.  
  
Hermione walked up to McGonagall's desk, curious at what was to happen. It was only then that she noticed her favorite teacher was sitting very uncomfortably. Minerva rubbed her chest slightly, winced, then went back to grading papers.  
  
Oh yes, thought Hermione. This must have been after she had been attacked with four spells directly to the chest. This must be sometime during the end of the school year.  
  
Just then, Minerva's office door flew open and in walked Albus Dumbledore, worry written all over his face. A startled Minerva looked at him, feeling only minor agitation at being so rudely barged in on.  
  
"Albus, what is the meaning of all this?" she demanded. She knew that she seemed so rude, but she wasn't in the mood to be disturbed.  
  
"Are you alright, Minerva?" he inquired as he rushed to her desk.  
  
"Why, yes, Albus, I'm just fine," she said, her eyebrows nearly touching her hairline. Albus stopped right in front of the desk.  
  
"Oh, Minerva, I have been so worried about you. You have no idea how many times I have attempted to see you in the hospital."  
  
"Then why didn't you?" she frowned. Folding her arms, she looked at him, anger apparent on her face.  
  
"I was held back by my brother, Aberforth, with whom I was staying with. He practically hog-tied me to my bed, telling me that it was much too dangerous to even think about seeing you. Until Voldemort was gone, and that toad Dolores was taken out of Hogwarts, he felt that I should stay back, lest you and the rest of the school get harmed. You know I could never bear the thought of hurting you. And to think that something so foolish as wanting to see you in the hospital could possibly hurt you, well I thought..." He trailed off, not even daring to utter the horrible thought of his darling headmistress dying.  
  
"Well, thank you very much for your concern Albus, but as you can see, I am just fine," shot Minerva.  
  
"Minerva," said Albus, exasperation in his voice. "I'm only thinking of what is best for you. You know how much I care about you." He went around the desk and knelt before McGonagall's desk.  
  
"What are you doing, Albus?" sighed Minerva. "Come on, get up. You're making a spectacle of yourself." Albus looked around.  
  
"As you can see, there is no one here," he said. "Minerva, give me another chance. Just one more chance is all I'm asking you for. If I disappoint you once again, then I swear I shall leave you alone for the rest of your life." He saw that her face was softening, so he cupped her face into his hands.  
  
"Please, I am begging you, not as your boss or senior of so many years, but as a man in love." He traced her lips with his thumb.  
  
McGonagall's mind began to fog up. She couldn't think straight anymore, and Albus certainly wasn't helping any. Sure, she wanted to forgive him. But she had so much pride and she didn't know if she could.  
  
No, she thought, shaking her head. Don't give in to him. She pulled back, stood up, and walked to her window, her arms folded the whole time.  
  
"How can I be so sure that I can trust you again after what you did?" she asked.  
  
"Because I give you my word as a man who loves you that I wouldn't do that," said Albus, walking up behind Minerva. "Please say that I can make it up to you." He carefully wrapped his arms around her waist, trying not to irritate the bandages that still covered a good portion of her upper body. He nuzzled her neck and was surprised when she didn't stop him. "Please marry me. And this time, I promise I'll be there. Not even death itself could stop me from getting there."  
  
Minerva smiled broadly, turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck.  
  
"Okay, Albus," she said. "But I must tell you that if you screw this one up, I will not only be forced to kill you, but I will leave this school and perhaps even leave England altogether. After all, I hear there is an opening at Durmstrang." She smiled at the look on Albus' face.  
  
"You wouldn't dare, Minerva," he frowned.  
  
"Try me," smiled Minerva. With that, they kissed each other and Hermione felt herself being pulled out of the memory.  
  
Hermione stood there, and, looking up at the two most powerful figures in all of wizard history, standing side by side, she smiled. Their story was certainly a most interesting one and yes, they looked most happy together.  
  
"Are you satisfied now, Miss Granger?" questioned Minerva.  
  
"Yes, I am," smiled Hermione.  
  
"So, what happened?" asked Draco. Hermione just looked at him and smiled.  
  
"Draconis Lucius Malfoy, how could you?" she asked in a mock tone of shock. "Snooping in other peoples personal life? I'm ashamed of you," she said, placing her hand on her chest. "I would never betray McGonagall like that." And with that, she turned and walked away, leaving Draco and the rest of the group with confused and even angry looks on their faces.  
  
"Now, 'Mione, listen to reason," called Ron as he and the others followed her.  
  
"Just a hint?" questioned Ginny. Minerva and Albus looked after them, smiling. Then, without another word, they turned and walked arm in arm through the new doors of the Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  
  
Fin 


End file.
